Elena Dementieva will play the Watsons Water Challenge on January 3-6, 2007. I am so excited!!! Hopefully, I can attend the tournament and meet her if possible. ;)

The Hong Kong Tennis Patrons' Association (TPA), organizer of the Watsons Water Champions Challenge 2007 announces that Hong Kong 's premier tournament will once again attract a line-up of the biggest names in world tennis.

Returning to one of her favorite cities is Russian Star Elena Dementieva . She is enjoying her best ever year winning tournaments in Los Angeles and Tokyo . She has victories over Maria Sharapova, Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters, and has reached a high of No. 5 in the world this year.

World No. 7 Elena Dementieva has officially qualified at the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships which will be held in Madrid on November 7-12. Only the Top 8 singles players and Top 4 doubles teams can play at this prestigious tournament. This is Dementieva's 7th straight appearance at the year-end masters and is the only active player able to do so.

"I'm extremely proud of the fact that this is the seventh straight year I have qualified for this prestigious event. It means a lot to every player to make it to the end of season as one of the best eight players and I can't wait to get to Madrid."

I'm really glad that Elena has qualified for the year-end masters this year. She deserves it after all! She's had a good 2006 season with 2 titles and 2 Grand Slam quarter-final appearances.

Now that she'll be in Madrid, I hope she trains and prepares well for the event and win some matches. Oddly, Dementieva hasn't won a match in the year-end masters for two years now. Hopefully, the court in Madrid suits her favor.

This week, Elena Dementieva is playing the Zurich Open at Zurich, Switzerland. The Zurich Open is the last Tier 1 tournament this season and will also be Dementieva's last tournament prior to the Madrid Masters.

Dementieva is seeded fourth in this tournament, following Amelie Mauresmo, Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova, and had a first round bye. Waiting for her in the second round is Slovenian Katarina Srebotnik. This is the second time in three weeks that the 2 girls will face each other and third time this year too. Just a couple of weeks ago, Elena Dementieva battled cramps and poor serving to get past Srebotnik at the 2nd round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany. Dementieva won all her previous meetings against Srebotnik (6-0). But notably, their last three matches went into three sets and the last 2 was won 7-5 in the third.

People are saying that Srebotnik is due a win against Elena. Of course I hope not but I think not as well. Elena is probably tired as this is the fourth straight week that she's playing but knowing that a good result here will qualify her for Madrid is motivation enough for her to do well in Zurich. So, I'm expecting another difficult match for Elena tomorrow. But when push comes down to shove, I believe Elena will win once again. If she's playing really well this week, a title on Sunday won't be a bad birthday gift for me. ;)

I would like to greet my favorite tennis player, Elena Dementieva, a very happy birthday! I wish her all the happiness and luck in this world. She's had a good year so far but I hope that the next year would be better.

Elena won't probably be able to read this but I'd like to take this opportunity to thank her. She's brought so much to me and made me realize a lot of things. See, the reason why I like her so much is because I can totally relate to her game. The way she plays the game is like seeing how I play my life. On my worst moments, there were a lot of times that it was Elena who inspired me to move on and not give up. Thank you very much Elena. You will always be my favorite tennis player and personality. I hope to meet you in person someday.

In a bizaare match which lasted more than 2 hours yesterday, Anna Chakvetadze bounced Elena Dementieva out of the Kremlin Cup 7-5 3-6 6-0. Dementieva had set points in the first set but was not able to convert. This is Chakvetadze's first win over Dementieva and 5th top 10 win. Chakvetadze will face Nadia Petrova in today's finals.

Next week, Dementieva will compete at the Zurich Open in Switzerland. It was a good week this week but I hope that next week will be better. A title next week will be a great birthday gift for me.

Elena Dementieva is in the semifinals of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow Russia, rallying to beat Patty Schnyder 7-6(6) 7-6(1). She will face Anna Chakvetadze next.

Chakvetadze received a walkover from Sharapova earlier today. Dementieva won both their previous meetings. But Chakvetadze has improved a lot these recent months where we saw her take her maiden title in Guangzhou, China.

Elena Dementieva and Patty Schnyder will resume their rivalry at the quarterfinals of the Kremlin Cup this Friday. Schnyder currently leads their head-to-head at 6-5. Just last week at Stuttgart, they were supposed to meet at the qf as well but Dementieva withdrew due to a thigh injury.

Dementieva is currently 8th in the race to the YEC, with a lead of over 300 points over Schnyder. They are both in contention for one of the last 4 spots in the YEC.

Both girls had pretty long matches last night. Dementieva saved a match point against Shahar Peer while Schnyder won in 3 sets against Iveta Benesova. I hope Dementieva recovers from yesterday and win her match later.

Russian tennis star Elena Dementieva will be hard to miss on the Upper WestSide, now that she's buying a Riverside Drive condo.

The willowy blonde - currently ranked sixth in the world - is one of theRussian hotties dominating the women's tennis circuit. Sources say she's paid$2.6 million for a high-floor two-bedroom, 31/2-bath unit in the Rushmorebuilding, overlooking the Hudson River at 64th Street.

Dementieva and Maria Sharapova were on Centre Court at Wimbledon earlier thisyear when a streaker danced naked around the court and did a cartwheel. Whileice queen Sharapova turned her back on the antics, Dementieva at least smiled atthe spectacle.

So Lena bought an apartment in New York huh? Hmmm... I wonder what that means. It could probably be her birthday gift for herself. Or maybe she's moving closer to her boyfriend Maxim Afinogenov of the NHL's Buffalo Sabers.

Anyway, the good thing if she really moves in NYC is that there's good access to tennis courts near her. It also won't be hard for her to look for hitting partners.

Elena Dementieva[3] defeated Slovenian Katarina Srebotnik 4-6 7-5 7-5 in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany. Dementieva collapsed on the court before serving for the match in the third set due to cramps.

"I didn't want to give up and I put in so much, everything that I had today."

That is why Elena Dementieva is my favorite tennis player. She might be streaky but she never gives up. She will be facing either Shahar Peer or Patty Schnyder in the quarters.

Davai Elena!

On other news, Dementieva was asked about the Sharapova's announcement of her availability in next year's FedCup tie against Spain. Here's what Elena had to say:

"If she (Sharapova) plays it's going to be very helpful for the team," saidDementieva. "She's a very strong player and we have a lot of chances to win ifshe's playing."

"I don't see any problems with her father," said Dementieva.

"He's an emotional guy but it is nothing to do with his daughter. Mariais a nice girl and I don't see any problems."

Nice words from Elena. I hope she gets selected in next year's FedCup team.

Elena Dementieva[3] is in action at this week's tournament in Stuttgart. She received a first round bye together with Amelie Mauresmo, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Nadia Petrova. In her opening round match, she will face world no. 26 Katarina Srebotnik.

Interestingly, Dementieva owns Srebotnik based on their 5 previous meetings having won all of them. But their last 2 meetings both went to 3 sets. Last time they met was at Tokyo earlier this year where Elena won the biggest title of her career so far.

Srebotnik is a good player and she really can play. If Elena doesn't bring her game on court in this match, Srebotnik might have a chance. Last week's lost against Radwanska was really bad so I hope Elena was able to put it behind her already.